She has about 100 ways to stay vibrant

June 20, 2007|BILL MOOR

Marian Wilson starts her morning with raisin toast and prayer and ends her day with a little Rhine wine and Letterman. In between, she stays as happy as a lark. "I don't know what I could do to make my life any better right now," says the South Bend native who now lives at Hamilton Retirement Communities near New Carlisle. She figures she has all that she needs -- a magnifying glass for reading, a new television to stay up on the news and good friends to take her to church. Life is good for Marian. "Maybe I will just live to be the world's oldest person," she says. She is well on her way. On Friday, Marian will turn 100. She already has had her party. "We had about 80 family members and friends here last weekend," says Maryann Franklin, Marian's daughter. "A niece came in from Australia, and a granddaughter and her family from Germany." Marian was thrilled to see all of them -- and knew everybody's name. "I recently took her shopping, and she picked out a birthday card specifically for each of her (eight) grandchildren and (19) great-grandchildren," Maryann says. She loves them all dearly, even though none lives close -- with Chicago and Fort Wayne the nearest grandkids. Maryann, one of Marian's two daughters and the only one living, lives in Greensboro, N.C. "We want her to move out with us when she is ready," Maryann says. "And maybe I should," Marian adds. "Someday, I probably will, but not just yet." The South Bend area is the only home she knows. She was educated at Colfax School and old South Bend High School. She taught Sunday School at First United Methodist Church. She later taught mentally challenged students and then kindergarten at Coquillard School. And during her 55-year marriage to her husband, Arthur, before he died in 1983, she was active in her church's soup kitchen and budget corner ... as a Gray Lady at Memorial Hospital ... and as a volunteer for the American Red Cross. Alice Miller, a longtime friend who shares books with Marian, remembers when Marian would visit one of Alice's neighbors, a shut-in, and always bring her pink carnations. Marian remembers that, too. "The carnations matched her glassware, and she always liked that," she says. Now her goodness is being returned by others, including her church friends -- Crews Perkey, Jim and Wilma Pickens, and Jim Borden -- who drive her to Sunday services. "I gave up driving when I was 96 and moved out here (from South Bend's Marquette Boulevard)," she says. "At that point, I was only driving to Martin's, the bank and church anyway." So what's the secret to her longevity? "Well, God blessed me with good health," she says. "I don't have any heart problems or diabetes. I have a little arthritis, but that's nothing. I don't even have a doctor anymore." Marian does have a walker now to get around. "They wanted me to start using one out here (at Hamilton) because I fell once," she says. "And that's fine with me." And how has she kept her sharpness? "Maybe because I am still interested in so many things," she says. "I really keep up on the world news with CNN and two newspapers. I also love watching sports -- especially the White Sox and the Cubs." Which one does she like best? "My husband was a big White Sox fan, and so I root a little harder for them." Her granddaughter from Chicago, Julie Andrews, recently bought Marian a nice, new television. "She and her husband wanted to get me a stand for it, too, but it's the perfect height for me right on top of the old TV." Daughter Maryann adds that her mom still plays solitaire and had been an avid rummy and Scrabble player as well. She also tends to some flowers and watches the birds outside her window. Marian also was a wonderful artist. All of the grandchildren were able to take one of her paintings home with them after her birthday party last weekend. She received many presents in return, including more than a few bottles of her favorite Rhine wine. "I always have a little before I go to bed," she says. Then she smiles. "Now maybe I'll have to have a little more." Cheers to Marian for her 100 wonderful years. Bill Moor's column appears on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. E-mail him at bmoor@sbtinfo.com; write him at the South Bend Tribune, 225 W. Colfax Ave., South Bend, IN 46626; or call him at (574) 235-6072. Bill's new book of columns, "Moor or Less Volume 2: Old Soldiers, Good Neighbors and Loyal Dogs," is now available at The Tribune's front counter, Borders and most Martin's Super Markets.